


Baby Steps

by amberlazuli



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Introspection, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24924634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amberlazuli/pseuds/amberlazuli
Summary: “Tenshouin-kun,” Rei’s voice is almost sickly sweet now.  “You’re being a nuisance.”“And you’re being an obstinate brat.”This is about the point when Keito, hanging mid-air between his two so-called childhood friends, decides to amend his previous statement:This isn’t a dream.It’s a nightmare.
Relationships: Hasumi Keito/Sakuma Rei/Tenshouin Eichi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

> So...Eichi's new 3* card story that confirms he and Rei (and Aira) are roommates and Keito now has to deal with them getting along? 
> 
> Yeah. That's where this came from.

Exhaustion hits him out of nowhere. 

It’s not as acute these days, not in the way it used to be back in high school, but sometimes it creeps up on him unexpectedly and makes his limbs feel so heavy that the only option he seemingly has is to drop himself onto the nearest possible surface. 

In this case, that happens to be a chair in the dormitory common room, and he blinks futilely in an effort to keep himself from completely passing out. 

It’s because he hasn’t had any energy drinks today, he thinks blearily. He’s been trying to cut back, since the sheer number of them he’d consumed daily back at Yumenosaki had probably permanently raised his heart rate, but even with a somewhat decreased workload it’s still almost impossible to do what he does without some extra help. 

He sinks against the back of the chair, the pull of the soft fabric too tempting to ignore, and decides that maybe a power nap is for the best. 

He can keep making his rounds later. 

-

He thinks he might be dreaming. It feels like he’s floating, almost, caught somewhere between sleep and waking where his body is weightless and utterly relaxed. 

“We’re taking him to my bed.”

“We are _not_ taking him to your bed. Your bed stinks of vampire.”

“You do recall that I spend a good deal of my sleeping hours in a coffin, yes? So, therefore, my bed is most certainly cleaner than _yours.”_

There’s silence after that, enough that Keito almost nods off again until someone grabs his feet and swings him around rather abruptly. 

“You’re going to wake him. I’m perfectly capable of carrying him on my own.”

“Yes, well, I can’t exactly trust you not to drop him, can I?”

“Tenshouin-kun,” Rei’s voice is almost sickly sweet now. “You’re being a nuisance.”

“And you’re being an obstinate brat.”

This is about the point when Keito, hanging mid-air between his two so-called childhood friends, decides to amend his previous statement:

This isn’t a dream.

It’s a nightmare. 

The voices do quiet after that, thankfully, though there’s a bit of a hassle getting him through the door of the dorm room proper and actually onto the bed. 

He can feel a soft blanket settling over his body, pulled up snugly to his shoulders, and then one of them is removing his glasses while the other gently strokes his hair back. 

It’s nice, and it makes him feel appreciated to the point that he’s hardly even annoyed anymore. 

That might change as soon as he wakes up, of course. 

But he can worry about it then. 

-

“Finally awake, _bouzu?”_

“Mm?” he sighs, knowing that’s not really an answer, but it’s the only sound his mouth feels like making at the moment. 

Rei’s presence would be unmistakable even without the irritating misnomer, but there’s something still calming about him despite everything that’s happened between them. 

He opens his eyes the barest amount, the dark form beside him visible even without his glasses. 

“You really needed the rest, hmm?”

Eichi’s voice comes from his other side and Keito doesn’t feel like turning right now, so he decides to close his eyes again and bury his face in the pillow instead. 

“What time is it?” he asks the fabric. 

“Not quite dinner,” Rei answers, petting his head. Keito briefly contemplates telling him to stop, because that’s not the kind of relationship they have, but he doesn’t quite have the heart to do so. 

“I should…”

“Stay,” Eichi says softly and Keito lifts his head enough to blink at him. “I feel like I never see you these days.”

“Well,” Keito tries to collect his thoughts, shaking the lingering fuzziness from his head. “Since we’re no longer on the student council together, there’s less reason to interact.”

“Being friends isn’t enough of a reason?” Eichi’s voice is calm, entirely neutral, but Keito knows him well enough to hear the hurt lingering under the surface and he doesn’t quite have an answer for that. 

Rei’s fingers press a little harder against his scalp, rubbing slightly, and Keito sighs. 

“I haven’t been avoiding you, if that’s your concern,” he says quietly. “And I see Sakuma enough at the agency.”

“Ouch.”

There’s no heat in Rei’s tone, but even Keito can admit that one was probably a little harsh. 

Maybe the truth is that, when he’s not busy every waking moment, he really _doesn’t_ know how to spend his time. 

Anzu had suggested taking up drawing again and while he does intend to do that...nothing about that involves anyone else. 

He’s made his peace with both Rei and Eichi, he thinks - whether or not he’s fully at peace with _himself_ shouldn’t be a factor in this specific equation. 

“You’re not wrong, you know,” Eichi says suddenly, breaking the rather uncomfortable silence that’s fallen around them. “Our position merits a certain level of professionalism and cultivating a proper image, but within the confines of our own space here, I don’t think there’s any reason to keep up pretenses.”

“It’s easier,” Keito rolls onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. “If there’s no disconnect between the way someone acts in here and the way they act out there, the chance of slipping up is greatly decreased.”

“But that takes all the fun out of...well, everything,” Eichi turns so he’s looking out the window, his back completely straight. “Making other people happy is the goal of an idol, perhaps, but if you’re not happy yourself, then isn’t that just a lie?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever said anything about being unhappy,” Keito’s reply is half-hearted at best, most probably because Rei’s hand is resting rather casually on his chest now and he’s still not sure how to feel about _this_. 

“Yes, yes, you’re one of those weird people who gets off on working constantly,” Eichi throws him a quick smile over his shoulder before turning away again. “Keito. If Sakuma-kun and I can put our differences aside and enjoy spending time together, there’s really no excuse for you. Especially not with people like us that you’ve known for years.”

“You’ve always been good with words. Both of you. Too good,” Keito sighs and rubs his eyes a little. “I don’t have answers for you, other than that perhaps it’s my way of adjusting to all of the changes that have happened.”

“Which is understandable,” Rei’s playing with the buttons on his shirt now. “But I feel as though all of us had made considerable progress in the past year and it would be a true shame to lose that. Wouldn’t it?”

“And here I thought you just brought me here to take care of me, not to lecture me,” Keito’s not exactly irritated, since he probably deserves more of a tongue-lashing than this, but it bears saying regardless. 

“Maybe it’s just nice to be able to turn the tables on you once in a while. Between Sakuma-kun and myself, we’re at the very least a match for you,” Eichi shifts closer, leaning down and cupping Keito’s jaw with slender fingers. 

“Eichi,” he says the name on an exhale, barely more than a whisper. “Don’t. Teasing is one thing, but this…”

“What’s wrong with it, exactly?” Eichi hardly looks put-off by the rejection. “Or is this just more of your Mr.-No-Fun-Allowed act?”

“That’s not it and you know it,” Keito frowns, turning against Eichi’s hand without meaning to. “You have... _him_. Don’t you?”

“Ah!” Eichi’s eyes light up annoyingly at the very mention of Wataru. “No. Well, yes? That is, this has nothing to do with that. It’s not as if he’s exactly innocent in the matter. Isn’t that right, Sakuma-kun?”

“Mm?” Rei sounds like he’s not listening at all. “Oh. Yes, in that case,” he’s still fiddling with Keito’s shirt even though Keito’s more distracted trying to figure out exactly how many degrees of separation there are between him and Wataru now because it seems to be a lot fewer than he’d previously thought. 

“Regardless, this only means something if you want it to,” there’s something so fond about his expression and Keito, despite all of his half-hearted objections, has never been able to - no, has never _wanted_ to - say no to this man. 

“Okay.”

He notices the rather smug look Eichi shoots in Rei’s direction before kissing him, and he thinks briefly about how he didn’t sign up to be some sort of pawn in their eternal power-play quest, but that’s the last concern he has because Eichi...does not kiss like a boy anymore. 

And no, he’s not going to think too hard about why that is, thank you very much, but he doesn’t think time has clouded his memories _that_ much that he wouldn’t remember even if it’s been years - for both of them - and back then it truly _hadn’t_ meant anything. 

“Mm,” Eichi lets out a tiny, throaty little noise before pulling back. 

“I’m still not exactly sure how this is supposed to help me,” Keito licks his lips unconsciously, though from the smirk Eichi gives him, the blond has definitely noticed. 

“Sometimes it’s just best to stop thinking for a bit, _bouzu_ ,” is Rei’s less-than-helpful contribution, but he still kisses like he’s trying to suck Keito’s soul out through his mouth. 

It had been enough to make Keito’s knees weak back in their second year but he’s fairly sure he’s more resistant to Rei’s charms these days - not that he’s going to test that theory, since he doesn’t really see a need to stand up right now. 

“Now,” Rei’s hand finally leaves his chest as he reaches to push his own hair back behind his ear. “My suggestion is that we sleep for a while longer and then go down to the cafe to get something to eat.”

“Aren’t you concerned about your roommate returning?” Keito thinks it’s only right to ask, but Rei merely blinks at him. 

“It’s summer and it’s light out for a long time, so if they’re doing anything at the high school, chances are it won’t end before we decide to venture out for sustenance,” he finally replies, yawning enough to show his fangs. 

“Sakuma-kun,” Eichi hums and Rei turns to him. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Ah, of course, my bad,” Rei reaches across Keito and Keito somehow feels like he’s lost...again...but it’s not as if seeing them kiss is a _bad_ view - quite the contrary, in fact. 

(However, the tiny, traitorous part of his brain that wakes up at this to remind him that the only thing missing in this strange quadrangle is for him and Wataru to complete it can go back into hiding forever, as far as he’s concerned.) 

“You’re quite good at that,” Eichi’s a bit breathless and it sounds genuine, though Rei’s only reply to that is a sultry smirk. “Feeling better, Keito?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but if it will get the two of you to stop bickering for an hour or two, I suppose it might have been worth it,” he shivers a bit when Rei throws the blankets back but even if the other man’s never going to be _warm,_ it’s still comfortable to have him curled up against Keito’s back with a casual arm slung across his waist. 

“Save some space for me,” Eichi’s gone back to using that childish, petulant tone he always slides into when he’s not getting his way exactly, but though the beds aren’t exactly big, there’s still enough room for him to cram himself in. “There.”

“Incorrigible. Both of you,” Keito mumbles, more out of habit than anything else since he realizes that’s actually the first time he’s said that today. 

Huh. 

Maybe this has been the distraction he’s needed, after all. 

It’s not like he’s going to expect this to become a regular thing, since that’s asking far too much of Rei and Eichi’s abilities to make nice with each other, but right now - with Eichi’s head tucked under his chin and Rei nuzzling absently at the back of his neck - he _might_ actually be too comfortable to care. 

-

Once again, he amends that thought only a couple of hours later when the other two start snarking at each other about dinner options, but for once he actually doesn’t want to bang their heads together. 

Baby steps, he thinks to himself as he pushes them both through the doors of the cafe. 

As long as they’re moving forward, everything else will fall into place. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I've considered these three before but seeing how they interact in current canon really gave me the push to make this happen. 
> 
> Please feel free to comment if you enjoyed and if you'd like to find me on twitter, I'm at [EndlessRondo](https://twitter.com/EndlessRondo)!


End file.
